Forgiveness Barriers | Pastor Jason Mick | United City Church

Well, good morning, United City. It is so good to be with you. Hey, why don't you guys stand? I don't know about you, but it is a good day to be in the house of the Lord with the people of the Lord. How many of us believe that God is good this morning? Amen. Come on, do you believe God is good this morning? At 10 o'clock, let's sing. ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ My room is full of testimonies ♪ ♪ And there's one I'll tell you first ♪ ♪ Goes something like God is good all the time ♪ ♪ All the time God is good, yes, He is ♪ Come on, put your hands together. Come on, we'll sing. ♪ Did you hear about those Hebrew boys ♪ ♪ Sharan, Meshach, Abednego ♪ ♪ And people run through them in the fire ♪ ♪ But they were rescued by the Lord ♪ ♪ Did you hear about the place called Jericho ♪ ♪ Seven times they marched around ♪ Here's what happened. ♪ Something happened when God's people shouted ♪ ♪ Every walking, crashing down, I tell you, I know ♪ ♪ God is good all the time, all the time God is good ♪ ♪ God is good all the time, all the time God is good ♪ ♪ All the time God is good ♪ ♪ About the 12-year story of a woman who was saved ♪

♪ She pushed through the crowd to get to Jesus ♪ ♪ And he made a hole again ♪ ♪ Do you know about when Paul and Silas ♪ ♪ Sang a midnight song of praise ♪ ♪ Suddenly the doors were flung wide open ♪ ♪ Cause the gospel can't be changed, say ♪ ♪ God is good all the time, all the time God is good ♪ ♪ How I know God is good all the time, all the time God is good ♪ ♪ Say, just put your hands together, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Come on, 10 o'clock, can we praise? Sing, my praise will never run out, will never run ♪ Cause all the time you're good, you're good ♪ ♪ It never runs out, it never runs ♪ ♪ Cause all the time you're good, my praise ♪ No matter what you're going through, God's goodness is pursuing you all the days of your life. ♪ All the time God, your goodness will never run out ♪ ♪ Never runs out, all the time, my praise, my praise ♪ ♪ Will never run out, will never run out, all the time ♪ ♪ Your goodness, your goodness, it never runs out, never runs out ♪ ♪ It never runs out, all the time, my praise, my praise ♪ ♪ Will never run out, will never run out, all the time ♪ ♪ Your goodness, your goodness, it never runs out, never runs out ♪ ♪ And my praise will never run out, never runs out, all the time ♪ ♪ Your goodness, your goodness, it never runs out, never runs out, all the time ♪ ♪ Your goodness, your goodness, it never runs out, never runs out, all the time ♪ Come on, can you give him some praise this morning? He is good, amen, amen, and amen. Good morning, church. We're up here praising God.

This is Kayla Howard, and I met her and her husband last Sunday morning with their son, when they came down to make a decision for Christ and said, we need Jesus in our lives. So I talked to them through it, and Kayla said, I want to give my life to Jesus, and I want to be baptized. And so here we are on Sunday morning, super excited. Kayla, my one question for you is, have you turned from a life of sin and placed your faith in Jesus? Then I baptize you, my sister, in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, buried with Christ in baptism, and raised to walk in a new life. Praise the Lord, amen. Good morning, United City. We're so excited you're here with us this morning. We deeply value. community here at United City. And you may look around and think, this is a pretty big church. How do I find community here? The answer is a life group. We have so many great life groups and there's one waiting for you to join in. So let's take a moment to stand up, turn to someone around you and say, hey, what life group are you in? Well, good morning, United City Church.

My name is Jeremy Winters and I have the pleasure of serving on staff here. We are so excited that you're joining us here in the room. I want to give a special shout out to those who are watching us online too and just let you know you're missing out by not being here. So next time you have the opportunity, come join us in person here at United City Church. If this is your first time at United City Church, we want to welcome you. We're excited that you're here. We know there's a lot of obstacles to get in the way of coming to church on a Sunday morning, but we're excited that you're here. And your next step for us this morning is to take the white communication card in front of you, fill out a little bit of information about yourself and take that to our first time guest area outside of the worship center in the lobby after the service. We just want a chance to get to know you a little bit better. We've got a small gift for you and hope to connect with you. If you're not comfortable doing that, we also have tap tags, the little black circles on the back of the chair in front of you, unless you're on the first row and then you got to reach around, sorry. But for everybody else,

the black tap tag in front of you. If you tap on that with your phone, you'll have a lot of information about how to join a life group, how to join a serve team, how to give to the life of our church, first time guests as well. One of the options on there is also our marriage night, which we're announcing that's coming May the 3rd called The Story of Us. This is gonna be an incredible opportunity for you to have a lot of fun. We've got a lot of great things planned for you, but also an enrichment for your marriage as well. So for all you married guys in the room, we're making it easy for you, all right? You're planning a date night that week, okay? And so we're trying to make it as easy as possible for you to plan a date night, for you and your spouse to come and join and be a part of that. Check out more information with the QR code on the screen or that tap tag in front of you as well. Well, this time I wanna invite our ushers to come forward for the morning offering as we return to the Lord what he's given to us to steward on his behalf. As they're coming forward for that, I'm gonna pray for us. Father in heaven, we thank you for who you are,

that you were so good, so kind, so compassionate, that you were willing to send your one and only son for us. God, and we recognize that in the ramp up and the lead up to Easter here in a couple of weeks, where we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Father, I pray today that you would help us to set aside every distraction that we walked into this room with. Everything from work, everything with our families, everything with trying to get three kids in a car on the way here. Father, all of the things, the forgiveness issues we're dealing with, all of that aside, for this moment so that we can focus our attention on your son, Jesus Christ. And that that would draw our affections to him. And that would lead us to worship you with reckless abandonment, God. Father, we offered you our time this morning, our voices this morning. Father, our finances this morning, but most importantly, our hearts. Father, would you meet us in this place as we worship you today? It's in your son's name. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's continue to worship, Church. As there is no one like the Father. He is worthy.

He is worthy. There is one on the throne. Jesus. Holy. He is worthy of praise. Honor. Glory. There is one on the throne. Jesus. Holy. He is worthy of praise. All the honor and glory. So we sing worthy is the Lamb. Who was slain and seated on the throne There's no one like the Lord Elders, creatures bow Give a praise to Him in Him alone There's no one like the Lord There is one on the throne His name is Jesus He is holy He is worthy He is worthy of this Of honor and glory So we sing Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain and seated on the throne There's no one like the Lord Elders, creatures bow Give a praise to Him in Him alone

There's no one like the Lord We sing Worthy, worthy is the Lamb Who was slain and seated on the throne There's no one like the Lord Elders, creatures bow Give a praise to Him in Him alone There's no one like the Lord We crown You, King of glory We crown You, Lord of all We crown You, You are worthy We crown You, King of glory We crown You, Lord of all We crown You, You are worthy So we sing Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain and seated on the throne There's no one like the Lord Elders, creatures bow Give a praise to Him in Him alone There's no one like the Lord Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain and seated on the throne There's no one like the Lord Elders, creatures bow Give a praise to Him in Him alone There's no one like the Lord As we remain in a spirit of prayer, I want to invite you to stay standing. In just a moment, we're going to have

some of our prayer team members at the bottom of the stairs and here across the front of the stage. I want to invite you to lean into this moment. Perhaps you're here today and you need prayer for you. Something that's just weighing heavy in your soul, heavy in your life. You want to pray with someone. But here we are two weeks away from Easter. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday. We're in the middle of our forgiveness series. It will come to a conclusion on Easter Sunday. And with that being said, this is an opportunity for us to intercede on behalf of those who are far from God and not yet here. We believe in the resurrection of Jesus. We believe in the resurrection power. If God raised Him from the dead and He has raised us from being dead in sin and have new life in Him, then we can celebrate and we can pray and we can pray bold prayers. So I'm going to invite you over this next couple moments not to just do what's comfortable or what's easy and just stand there with your hands in your pockets. I'm going to ask you to get uncomfortable. I'm going to ask you to lean in.

I'm going to ask you to seek the Lord. If Jesus is who He says He is, then He is worthy of it all. He's worthy to go before and to pray for your needs. neighbor, to pray for your coworker, to pray for a schoolmate, a teammate, a complete stranger, the waiter or waitress that's gonna take care of you later today, the person you come across at the grocery store, the person you're gonna come across on a trail as you're out for a walk, would you begin praying bold prayers in this moment and interceding on behalf of someone, or perhaps you're here and you're saying, Jason, I don't wanna pray. Then I wanna encourage you, start there. Pray that God would soften your heart. Jason, I don't know who to pray for. Start there. Ask the Lord to give you a name. Jason, I'm scared, I'm nervous. Jesus knew what he said in the Great Commission. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching all that I have commanded you. And he told us, and I will be with you always. He's with you. Let not this be another moment in our service

where we sit idle, but we get out of our comfort zone and lean in and intercede and pray for and ask God to move mountains. The prayer team is available to you. The altar is open. If you've got a spouse, a friend, a family member next to you, take a moment, grab a hand, and pray with someone. Pray over someone. And let's ask God to move in Northeast Houston as we prepare for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen? Amen. As we sing, you pray. Father, Holy Spirit, move in a powerful way in this time. Have your way in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. ♪ Elders, creatures bowed ♪ ♪ Giving praise to Him in heaven alone ♪ ♪ There is no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, there's just something about that never ends ♪ ♪ My soul, Savior, Jesus, like a fragrance after the rain ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Let all heaven and earth proclaim Him King and Kingdoms ♪ ♪ Let all heaven and earth proclaim Him King and Kingdoms ♪ ♪ Let the fall pass away, but there's something about it ♪ ♪ There's just something about it, something about it ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus, you're worthy ♪ ♪ And you have been the friend who never let go ♪ ♪ And I won't forget your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah, oh Jesus be the name ever on our minds ♪ ♪ Night and day, it's sweeter every time that I call on it ♪

♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ Oh, there's just something about Your Name That makes me cry for more When I look upon Your face There is no other name There is no other name, I know There is no other name Jesus, You're worthy Oh We see You on the highest throne Jesus, Jesus, Your Name Is like the morning light The one the darkness can't deny The resurrection and the life Jesus, oh Jesus, Your Name You say Your Name, Your Name, Your Name Oh, He can make Your storm be filled You never fail, You never fail Jesus, Jesus, the bread of life Proclaim for us the wounded and the worthy One, the first and last Jesus, Jesus, the King who overwhelmed the grave The Lord who will forever make The Name of God a living Name Jesus, oh Jesus, be the Name Jesus, be the Name, oh let it all Jesus, be the Name, make this all the glory Oh, Jesus, be the Name Jesus, be the Name

Jesus, be the Name, above it all, God Jesus, be the Name Jesus, be the Name, above it all, God Jesus, be the Name, make this all the glory Jesus, be the Name Jesus, be the Name, make this all the glory They could not halt you, the veil told before you You silenced the bows of sin and grave The heavens are roaring, the praise of your glory For you are raised to life again You have no rival, you have no equal Now and forever God, you reign Yours is the kingdom, yours is the glory Yours is the Name, above all names What a powerful Name it is The Name of Jesus Christ, my King What a powerful Name it is Nothing can stand against What a powerful Name it is The Name of Jesus What a powerful Name it is The Name of Jesus What a powerful Name it is The Name of Jesus Well, good morning, church. Open your Bibles with me to Romans chapter 2. 12, and if you would like, go ahead and earmark Ephesians chapter two as well. I wanna piggyback on our welcomes to all of you as well. My name is Jason Mech.

I serve here as our executive pastor. Pastor Chris will be back to pick up our forgiveness series next week, so be sure you're here again next Sunday and join us for that powerful message. And if you are online today, perhaps you're traveling or out of town, perhaps sick, just thankful that you have chosen to be a part of the worship service and worship experience with us here at United City Church Room. Can we just welcome our online audience to the worship service today, especially all of you who are joining us from our correctional facilities. We're so thankful by God's grace, the message of God's word is getting to you. I love traveling, no doubt about it, and I'm thankful that I got to spend three years living in Utah in the gorgeous, beautiful, beautiful mountains. I loved growing up in Oklahoma and driving to Colorado for spring break trips and skiing. Do we have any skiers in the room, any snowboarders? Okay, we'll pray for the snowboarders, okay, all right. I did both, don't worry. But I love the journey to go up the mountains, the scenery. I mean, you guys, I don't know about you, I don't get sick in the mountains, but I get a little nervous. Like, the scenery is beautiful.

You get a little bit of the elevation things, lot of details there. But then what really freaks me out is when you're going on those switchbacks and you look over and that edge just does this. You know what I mean? Like, just talking about it, my hands just start sweating a little bit. I'm afraid of heights. So is anybody else thankful for the guardrails? Okay, in Jesus' name, thank you, thank you. Now, why are we so thankful for the guardrails? Because they keep us from going over the edge. Duh. I'm reminded of the beautiful, beautiful guardrails that prevent us from drifting. They're so good. And they're so needed. It dawned on me, as we're talking about this series on forgiveness, that guardrails are good and they're there to protect me. And I realized a few years back that I needed some better, stronger, godly guardrails in my life. I don't stand up here before you as a polished preacher and communicator. I stand before you as a beaten up, bruised, and bloodied man because the best message I will ever preach is the one that I first preached to myself. And this series has been agonizing

in all the good ways possible of wrestling with the Lord and wrestling with the scriptures of saying, God, where is there some unhealthiness in my life that I am building up? Where are the prideful barriers that I am putting up and not allowing healthy guardrails to come in? You know, nobody complains about guardrails when they're close to the edge. But here's something else I've learned. There's a difference between a godly guardrail and a prideful barrier. The godly guardrail protects you where a prideful barrier traps you. Guardrails keep you from danger and barriers keep you from healing. And that, my friends, is where unforgiveness lies. It starts as a self-preservation mechanism and it ends as captivity. As you're taking notes today, the title of today's sermon is Barriers to Forgiveness. Barriers to Forgiveness. Last week, Pastor Chris preached on one of the most powerful parables in scripture and that was the parable of the unforgiving servant where the servant owed the king an unimaginable debt and the king canceled it completely. And the same servant walked out and he grabbed a man who owed him a much smaller debt and demanded payments. And Jesus's point was clear on how many times you and I are to forgive people who are in debt to us.

He says 70 times seven. And Pastor Chris's main point last week was that forgiven people forgive people. In our first week, we understood and saw that we need to receive the forgiveness of God. Last week, we were reminded to give the forgiveness of God. But here's the reality. Knowing that truth doesn't make it easy to live. And that is where Romans 12 meets you and I today because many of us, we agree with Jesus. We agree, but yet we still struggle and have doubts. barriers to releasing the debt. Romans chapter 12, verse 17. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For by doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Good, and for two weeks, we've been talking about forgiveness, receiving it and giving it, but this week is where more tension shows up. More tension where we wrestle with the truth of God's word

and what he tells us to do with forgiveness and what our flesh wants to do. Because many of us, we hear sermons like this about forgiveness and we think, yes, but. That sounds good, I agree with that, but. What they did, that was serious. God, I agree with your word and I want to forgive, but they never apologized. Yes, but if I let this go, they could get away with it. God, I agree, but they hurt my family. Do you have a yes, but excuse? What is that for you? What do you hold on to? What do you hold on to? Now, those are serious. And no one's gonna demean a single one. Those are real. But I do think that sometimes our excuses and our reasonings can get somewhat creative, if you will. Like, yes, God, I want to forgive them, but they don't use their turn signal when they turn, which is pretty much unforgivable, by the way. I mean, just come on, let's be real. Or, I want to forgive them, but they talk during movies. I know. You see the death even childlike faith can see it. I want to forgive them, but they clap when the plane lands. Some of you are looking at me like, wait, we're not supposed to clap when a plane, it's all right, it's okay.

Here's the point. Our flesh and our pride want to offer up an excuse. I'll forgive, but. I'll release it, but. I'll move forward, but. But the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, introduces a better solution. And the powerful gives you and I two of the most powerful words all in scripture, and I want you to write them down today. But God, but God. We were dead in sin, but God. Evil meant to destroy, but God. Our strength is failing and has failed, but God. Jesus was crucified, buried, three days later, but God raised him from the dead. The gospel in the Bible has a much bigger and better story. Ephesians chapter two, verse one, and then verses four through five. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins, but God. But God, being rich in mercy, because, wow, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. Our hearts, our flesh, say yes, but. But the gospel of Jesus Christ says, but God. But God. And every time but God shows up in the Bible,

it means God is about to rewrite the story. And Romans 12 reminds us of this truth because forgiveness is where our yes but moment collides with God's mercy. And before we walk through some of these barriers, some of these yes but moments, let's put to bed and rest some misnomers or misunderstandings about what forgiveness is not. It's not pretending nothing happened. It's not forgetting the wound. Forgetting is not automatically restoring trust. It's not a natural reconciliation. It doesn't mean that all of a sudden, just because forgiveness is given that everything will go back to being the same. That's not what forgiveness is. And Pastor Chris talked about that last week. Forgiveness simply means releasing your right and my right to collect the debt. Our problem isn't so much that we don't understand forgiveness. The problem is that something inside us still wants to collect the debt. And yet some of the strongest words that you and I could ever echo, I'm sorry, I forgive you, and please forgive me. Our yes but moments are the barriers that keep us stuck. And so let's look at Romans 12 again and unpack some of the verses and look at some of the common barriers

as to why we choose not to forgive. Barrier number one, if you're taking notes, what if they get away with it? This is where we confuse justice with revenge. Look at verse 17 with me, those first six words. Repay no one evil for evil. You know, retaliation, it feels natural. You ever get so mad and angry that your blood just boils up and you just wanna lash out? Again, when someone doesn't use their turn signal and they just cut you off, you're like, oh! Could just be me, I'm sorry. Just airing up my dirty laundry. But retaliation feels natural. Oh, but they deserve it. You hurt me, I'll hurt you. Expose me, I'll expose you. You hurt my family, I'll hurt yours. You dismiss me, I'll dismiss you. But when you mirror evil, you multiply it. Evil never shrinks when it's returned, it only spreads. And retaliation, it feels like strength, but revenge never heals a wound. So let me ask, do you want resolution or do you want them to hurt? Are you seeking restoration or sinful satisfaction? And if they never felt what you felt, would you still be okay? If their suffering feels necessary for your peace,

you're not pursuing justice, you're pursuing revenge. If their suffering feels necessary for your peace, you're not pursuing justice, you're pursuing revenge. Sometimes the self-preserving boundary we build sounds like this, I won't let them get away with it. But my friends, vengeance isn't protection, it's escalation. We pay no evil, no one evil for evil. Barrier number two, that could be a common boundary. What if they don't change? This is where we wait for them to change before we actually release the debt and give forgiveness. Look at verse 18 with me. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. But they haven't changed. Paul gives us two qualifiers here. The first, if you're taking notes, if possible. And secondly, as far as it depends on you. What does that mean? That you are not responsible for their repentance, you are responsible for your obedience. What does that mean? You are not responsible for their repentance, but you and I have to take sole ownership of our obedience, can't be postponed by someone else's stubbornness. Peace and reconciliation takes two people. Forgiveness takes one. As far as it depends on you. You are responsible to people, but not responsible for how they respond.

You are responsible means, responsible for means controlling their choices, responsible to means honoring God in how you respond. And we have two scenarios in every single situation. We can respond or react. Responding with the grace of God or reacting with retaliation and emotion. And as people who are called by God to live according to God's word and by the power of God through his Holy Spirit, we need to allow our faith and the truth of God's word to lead us, not our emotions. Our emotions can lead us as a train wreck, y'all. God, the author and perfecter of the emotions, he gave them to you, called us not to sin in our anger. So we need to be led by faith so that we can respond. Peace, reconciliation, it may not be possible. It may not be possible. The other person, they may refuse to repent or own their part. And you can't control that. It might be impossible because the relationship is unsafe. May not be possible because that person continues their harmful behavior. It may not be possible to reconcile because that person may no longer be living. What if they don't change? You're not responsible for every outcome of the relationship, but you are responsible for the condition of your heart.

Even when peace cannot happen, my friends, bitterness is still not the answer. Forgiveness and releasing the debt is still our responsibility. Barrier number three, did God see it? Did God see it? This is a funny theological question, isn't it? In Genesis chapter three, the first book of our Bible, and right after God had created everything and said it was good, Adam and Eve sinned against God, became separated from God, and Adam and Eve were hiding, and God called out, Adam, where are you? God wasn't asking because he didn't know or didn't see. He asked so that Adam would come to the realization that he was hiding. Did God see what they did? Yeah. Did God see what you said and what you did? Yeah. And this is where we play mind games, where we say, God, I trust you, but I'm not gonna trust you with this one. I'm not gonna trust you with what or who hurt me in this particular situation. Look at verse 19. Never avenge yourselves, and he goes on, leave it to the wrath of God, which is referring back to Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse 35. And this is where forgiveness feels vulnerable and unsafe because if I forgive them, who's gonna make it right?

Listen, Paul doesn't minimize evil here, friends. What he's doing is he's redirecting justice. Forgiveness does not deny justice, it trusts the judge. It's knowing and believing that evil is real, but judgment will come. And we can all agree that the justice system on this side of eternity is broken. Praise God for it that we have laws, but we know that it's not perfect. And praise God that he who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. In other words, God put his judgment on his son, Jesus, to die the death that you and I deserve because of our sin. Jesus took our judgment upon himself for our salvation. And Christ followers, you should rejoice in that and give thanks for that and also be sober-minded and understanding that one day there is another judgment seat for us that we are still accountable for all of our actions and words, seen and unseen, heard and unheard. But the judgment of salvation and for souls, well, Jesus does that. The question is, who carries out the judgment if nothing's gonna happen? If you don't leave the justice with God, you're gonna carry it internally. And that weight of justice was never meant to sit on your shoulders or mine. We're not designed to carry that load.

Unforgiveness is often disguised as unbelief and it says, God, I don't trust you with this one. Are you thankful that the Lord meets you and I in our unbelief? Are you thankful that he can handle our doubts, that he can transform our hearts and our minds in the way that we view things and see situations in people? Barrier number four, what if I don't want to forgive? I feel like this is a very, very strong common one. In this series, it's been amazing to see how God has begun stirring up the people of the United City Church. The phone calls, the texts, the emails, the prayer times. It's been very apparent that this is hitting a note. And some of you have even told us, I don't want to. This is where we don't realize the weight and the cost of unforgiveness. Bitterness always costs more than forgiveness. You think holding the grudge is protecting you but it's consuming you. And the interest on unforgiveness, it compounds daily. Unforgiveness and bitterness will age you, kill you, and harden you. Look at verses 20 through 21. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink for by doing so, you will heat burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. Now that may sound strange to our ears but what Paul is saying here is that kindness, it heats burning coals on someone's head.

He's not talking about secret revenge. He's talking about the possibility that the grace you extend to someone might just awaken their soul and their conscience. That person, that individual, those people, they've really hurt you. And you've reconciled it in your soul that you can't change or bring reconciliation to it but you can extend forgiveness. And so you go and you declare it over those people or that person, I forgive you. And it might be the very thing that softens their heart and softens their soul because they're gonna look at you and be like, how in the world did I ever deserve that? And this is the gospel. What did you and I ever deserve to receive the forgiveness of God? Nothing. We are enemies of God but God in his mercy and kindness while we were still sinners sent Christ Jesus for you and for me. And God extended out his hand of grace through his son Jesus. And it makes us look at it going, what did I do to deserve it or to earn it? What did I do to deserve it or to earn it? Nothing. Your grace and your extension of forgiveness might just be the very thing that leads someone to repentance.

Here's the deeper command in verse 21. Do not become overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. There's only two directions this goes. One, either evil shapes you or by God's grace you overcome it. Because unforgiveness, it gives evil a second victory. It wounds you and it weighs you down and imprisons you. Friends, it's spiritual warfare. And here's the problem. Bitterness rarely shows itself publicly at first but it starts deep within the heart. Look at Proverbs 14 10 with me. The heart knows its own bitterness and no stranger shares its joys but God. I don't know about you but there's been many nights where I wake up and I'm lying there in bed and I begin wallowing in my bitterness. I begin wallowing in my insecurities. I begin spiraling and questioning and doubting. Anybody else ever been there? And my heart is just tormented by bitterness and I'm reminded by God's grace in Ephesians 4 31 through 32 let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander, let all of that be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted. forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. Notice the connection, friends. Bitterness hardens the hearts.

Forgiveness softens it again. In other words, bitterness is deeply personal and people around you may not see it yet, but it is already shaping the inside of you. Are you more guarded than you used to be? Are you quick to assume the worst in people? Are you more callous than you were five years ago? Because bitterness rarely announces itself. It just slowly weighs you down. And every offense you refuse to release becomes weight you were never meant to carry. And over time, the weight begins to change you, age you, and kill you. Let me show you what unforgiveness actually does to a person as we've got this coming out. That is no light back. Can you all just put your hands together and just say thank you for, you've been in the gym, bro. You know, I've had several people come up to me these last couple months and say, are you losing weight? Well, thank you, I am. You know, moving can be stressful. And no excuse, I got out of my daily rhythms and habits and disciplines and just got loose with my eating habits and my lack of working out. So I changed that. At the end of October, early November, I'm like, I'm out of excuses.

I moved in, I'm settled, I've got my daily schedules and rhythms, I just gotta make some choices now, right? So I do intermittent fasting, I can't out-train my fork, but I'll work out a couple of times a week, eat healthier, right? Make choices. And I gotta just tell you, after losing some weight, I feel good, y'all, I feel a lot better. Feel really good. My joints feel good, I can climb up these stairs, I'm feeling better. Not out of breath as much. But it's funny enough, when I think about how I'm grateful that I no longer carry that weight, man, I think about forgiveness and unforgiveness being such a heavy burden. You know, that one day I took that unnecessary criticism and I'm just gonna carry it. That parent who was absent in my life, maybe they were there physically, but emotionally and spiritually, they were checked out. I'm gonna hold on to that. Betrayed by people who were close to you, people that you cared for. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but y'all help me finish it? That's a lie. That's a lie. Harsh words. God help me.

We hold on to words. Broken promises. I'll remember that. Taken for granted. Taken advantage of. Being lied to. I'm gonna hold on to that one. Blamed unfairly. What's funny is, we hold on to all this weight. It begins overflowing and we begin holding rocks. And here's what I know to be true, is that hurt people hurt people. And you're ready to do something with these rocks. Listen, friends, the wound may not have been your fault, but the bitterness will become your responsibility. Years later, you're bent over. Short-tempered. Emotionally distant. Exhausted. I'm telling you, I'm out of breath. The people who put the rocks there, they're not carrying anything. You are. Don't allow the enemy to have a seat at your table and to live rent-free in your soul. Because unforgiveness and bitterness don't punish them, it imprisons you. Pastor Jason, so what do I? I do.

As the great theologian and philosopher Forrest Gump said, sometimes there's just not enough rocks. You stop trying to throw them, you stop collecting them, and as Paul tells us in Corinthians, take every thought captive and surrender it to the foot of the cross, and surrender it. No more rocks. Lay them down. Forgiveness, friends, does not begin and end with willpower and grit. Forgiveness is powered by the cross and the spirit of God. Because at the cross, the stones didn't drop that day. The stones didn't drop that day. Our sinful stones were thrown and they were landed on Jesus. And on the cross, God did not ignore justice. He redirected it, not to you, but into his son, Jesus Christ. Forgiveness, vengeance, and justice, they were not canceled at the cross. They were satisfied. Jesus took it upon himself. The weight of our sin and all of humanity fell on him.

Him. For your good, for his glory. At the cross is where God treated Jesus as if he lived your life so that he could treat you as if you lived his. And the stones you deserve were not stored, they were thrown, and Jesus didn't dodge them. But God, when Jesus rose from the grave, he proved something. He proved that evil does not get the last word. He proved that the resurrection declares that the goodness of God outlasts evil. For those of us in Christ, the old is gone, the new has come. Jesus said in John chapter 10, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come that you may have life and life abundantly. My friends, why are you trying to fix something that you can't fix? You and I are sinners, and if sin is our problem, a sinner can't be the solution. We need a savior, and his name is Jesus. Lay down your sin, lay down your stone, and go to Jesus. Others of you, you've called upon the name of Jesus, but you live as though you're far from God, and it's time to remember the grace of God and walk in it.

Don't just receive the forgiveness of God at the moment of salvation and forget it. Walk in it daily. Choose it daily. He extends it to you daily. You forgive not because the wound was small. You forgive because the mercy you received was massive. Can I say that for someone in the room today or someone online? You forgive not because the wound was small, but because the mercy of God is so massive in your life. What's holding you back, friend? It's time. It's time to confront our unbelief and to cry out to the Lord. It's time not to willpower ourselves to reconciliation or forgiveness. No, it's time to lay down our rock and to cry out and declare, but God, but God. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? No one move and no one leave, and this is a time of invitation. Romans 12 today reminds us. and we don't have to pretend that it hurts. It's telling us to not let the hurt turn into hostility. Which barrier is yours? One listed or not? What's your barrier to unforgiveness? Are you demanding revenge, waiting on an apology, refusing to trust God,

slowly being reshaped by resentment? If nothing changes in the other person, will you still obey Jesus? You don't have to deny the wound, but you don't have to keep storing what was thrown at you. For some others, your biggest barrier is that you've never asked Jesus to save you from your sin and forgive you of your sin and save you to a relationship with Him. And it's time to put down your rock. It's time to surrender and declare, but God, who is rich in mercy, and that shall flow from you all the days of your life. And today, you need to come to Christ. You need to lay down your excuse, lay down your life, and ask Jesus to save you. The Bible says, anyone who calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved. And today is your moment of salvation. The day that you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead. This is your moment. In just a minute, I'm gonna pray. We're all gonna stand and sing a song of invitation. As we sing and as we pray, if today, you need to come forward and declare, today, I'm coming to faith in Jesus. I need a Savior. And I need to walk away from my sin and be forever changed.

Then at that moment, I want you to boldly step out from your seat, walk down one of these aisles, and tell one of our prayer team members and staff that Jesus saved you. Others of you, you've called upon the name of Jesus and you are saved, but you need to take your next step in believer's baptism like the three we've already witnessed earlier today. We've got three more in our next service. But you need to talk with someone about scheduling your baptism in your next step. Others of you, you've been checking out United City Church, but it's time for you to come home and join this family. We wanna talk with you about what that next step looks like. Or perhaps, just the weightiness of the topic and the stirring in your soul that the Holy Spirit is leading you and prompting you to confess something to someone. There is healing in that. To come and pray. Ask someone to pray for your bitterness and unforgiveness. Ask someone to pray for boldness. You just want someone to talk with. That's why we're here. So I'm gonna ask that no one leaves our worship service for the next few moments. But as we pray, as we sing, I'm gonna invite you to respond as God leads to make a decision for Him. So Father, we cry out now.

God, I pray for the unbeliever who's going from death to life in this moment. God, the power of your gospel. But God, will you do it again? And God, I pray for the believers in the room who are struggling, that you're gonna meet them right where they're at right now. Help them move to boldness and obedience. God, increase our trust in you. May we not depend upon ourselves or carry a weight that we were never meant to carry. We surrender to you, Jesus. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus, amen and amen. Would you stand? Would you sing? And as God is leading, come forward. ♪ Don't have to hide no reason to pray ♪ ♪ And my heart needs a friend, my soul needs a friend ♪ ♪ So I'll run to the Father again and again and again and again. ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, again and again. ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, again and again. ♪ God, thank you for your grace and mercy. Father, we know on such a difficult day, hearing a difficult topic, Father, we know that you're at work. Father, we know that this battle is a spiritual warfare. But Father, we know that you have won the battle. You've won the war. And so Jesus, we don't just speak it, we proclaim victory over our lives

by the power of your word and the power of your spirit. So Father, help us not live as victims, but as victors. Help us, Lord, to be reminded daily of the grace and forgiveness you so greatly gave to us, and God, that we would so, rich in the mercy that we receive, so freely give it to people. God, may you allow an opportunity this week for someone in this room to extend that forgiveness to someone who's far from you. And through, Father, that interaction in that moment, God, would you transform someone's life? Because we know, Lord, by the power of your word, that what this world and this enemy would want to do for evil, Father, you and by your word can make it good for those who are called according to your purpose. God, thank you for the work you're doing in our hearts and our souls. Continue to stir us up to be more like you, to trust you and to follow you all our days. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Hey, church, can we thank Pastor Jason for an amazing word this morning? So good, so good. Release it, let it go. God is more than able to cover it. Hey, just a few things to put in you before you go. Make sure that you grab your Easter invitation. Again, that's not an invite to an event.

That is an invite to life change that you can see Jesus at work in somebody else's life and you get to have a hand in that. Secondly, tonight, we have something called Awaken Houston, a prayer night. It is a night of prayer. It's gonna begin at 6.30 in our lobby. We look, you can come and pray over us, with us, we are hosting this as a part of the Houston Church Planner Network and we love nothing more than to be a good support to our family that's across this town. We love you guys so much. Go forth in Jesus Christ and we'll see y'all soon. Goodbye. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. We can't wait to see you next week for any of our services at 8.30, 10, 11.30 or Espanol at one o'clock.